To Love and Protect
by Sue-per Z
Summary: After Sokka and Katara find a mysterious air bender, they are shocked to see an Earth Kingdom ship at bay near their village. Sokka, a strong and passionate warrior intrigues a man who needs a young officer to protect his blind and helpless daughter. As Sokka learns more about this mysterious girl, he also learns how to Love and Protect.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, this is my first ATLA story! This show has to be, by far, my favorite show. Also, I have always shipped Toph and Sokka and was a little (AKA completely) upset that they did not end up together. But, I guess that is what the imagination is for right? Anyways onto the story!**

**I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender…but I am pretty sure that I am a water bender. I know…**_**shocking!**_

**Oh! By the way, Toph is 16, Sokka is 20, and Aang and Katara are 17.**

A man in all black looked over his shoulder as he began to sweat. He thought he heard footsteps coming his way, and he could not get caught. Shaking his head, he continued to put jewel after jewel into his bag. Although, he heard that many men in his same position were caught and badly hurt doing what he was doing, he didn't allow himself to stop. Everyone in the house was in bed he was sure of that. After all, he knew their schedules. He was hired here to protect a little, helpless blind girl and he couldn't believe his luck; they were filthy rich. How hard could it be to steal from two parents that were always out for business and a little girl who couldn't even see?! Chuckling to himself he grabbed a couple of earrings before freezing when he heard;

"Hey, hotshot, you should take the necklace too, it costs a fortune."

Turning with trembling hands the man put his hands up in surrender, allowing the bag to hit the floor, "Beifong? Is that you?"

"Yes, genius, it's me. Now give me that bag, or else."

Laughing the man reached down to pick the bag back up, "Or else what? You gonna trip over your own feet like you did in the garden last week?"

The girl smirked and moved into a fighting stance; it took only one flick of her wrist to silence any laughter the man had left.

* * *

"Sokka, we are not leaving him here! It's freezing! He will get sick!" a blue eyed girl with a long dark haired braid cried to her brother.

"Oh, you didn't seem to mind about me getting sick when you were splashing me with your magic water!" Sokka crossed his arms.

Katara gritted her teeth in frustration and whispered, "It isn't _magic_! I told you it's bending!"

"Bending shmending! This bald kid and his over sized polar puppy are not coming with us!"

Said boy gave a shy smile and sheepishly replied, "Um, Appa is an air bison."

"What the hell is an Appa!" Sokka turned to the tattooed teenager.

"It's not what, it's who. My so called 'polar puppy' is an air bison named Appa."

Sokka looked at Katara with an agitated yet curious look. They both knew that air bison's were extinct and that everyone only knew about them because of ancient stories told around bonfires.

Katara walked over to the boy and said, "Sorry, um what's your name again? I'm Katara and that goof ball is my brother Sokka."

"I'm A-Aang, and that's Appa, my air bison!" Sokka shook his head at the boy. He was getting flustered and glazed eyed over his little sister all because she asked for his name.

Smiling kindly at Aang, Katara chuckled, "I know, you said that already. Anyway, sorry that my brother is being so rude it's just that. How do you have an air bison?"

"Everyone at the air temple has an air bison! Have you guys never been there before?"

Katara put her hand over her mouth and looked wide eyed at her brother. Aang had no idea that the air temple was gone for many years now. "Aang, the air temple doesn't exist anymore."

Sokka sighed, "This kid is already sick, Katara, leaving him here couldn't make him any worse."

Her eyebrow twitching, Katara swung her arm effectively trapping Sokka's body in a block of ice with her 'magic water'. "Aang come with us, we'll take you back with us to our village and explain everything to you. Okay?"

Still shaking his head from the previous news, Aang nodded and didn't even blush when Katara grabbed his hand.

"Well, my smart sister, how do you plan on getting us back to the village when you broke our boat?!"

"We can fly on Appa!" Aang smiled at Katara.

Katara smiled back and thanked Aang as he helped her onto his animal friend. Sokka crossed his arms and mumbled, "Great, now the fur ball flies too! And Katara says there's no magic."

* * *

After Sokka was done screaming from the long flight back to the village—the stupid animal flew, who knew, right?—he slid off of Appa and began walking towards the igloo he shared with Katara and his Gran-gran. As he walked he noticed a ship at the edge of the icy bay. Squinting his eyes, he also noticed that there was an Earth Kingdom symbol on the side of the ship.

Eyes widening, Sokka ran back to Aang and Katara, grabbed both of their arms, and pushed them back onto Appa. "What's wrong now, Sokka?" Katara sighed.

"I saw some ships near the bay. Whenever a nation comes to the villages, something goes wrong. You two need to leave now. Don't come back until you see that the ships are gone!" Seeing Katara's defiant stance he grabbed her shoulders, "Promise me that you will stay out of sight, both of you."

Katara opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted when Aang put a hand on Sokka's shoulder, "I promise to take care of your sister."

Sokka felt an odd twinge of pride towards the stranger he had met only earlier today and whispered, "Thank, you."

Hands grabbing for Sokka, Katara yelled her brother's name as Aang called out the command 'Yipp, yipp' to have Appa soaring through the sky.

* * *

Turning back to his igloo, Sokka ran towards it to make sure Gran-gran was alright. "Gran! Gran!"

"I am alright, Sokka, I'm in the living space." Replied Gran-gran.

Sokka relaxed and smiled when he heard the familiar sound of his Grandmother's voice. "Thank god you're ok. I thought one of the boulder heads from the Earth Kingdom had you or some-"

Shutting his mouth, the blue eyed warrior gave his Gran a confused look. Why did she look so worried? That was when he noticed that one of the 'boulder heads' was standing in front of Gran-gran. Worried once again, Sokka pulled out his boomerang and blocked the Earth Kingdom officer from coming any closer to the old woman he loved.

"Sokka, no!" Gran-gran grabbed his hand.

"Ah, that is what I like to see," Sokka turned to see a man with black and grey hair looking at him, "a man that is willing to fight and protect without hesitation. Boy, do you understand that all my men are holding dangerous weapons that could out match your boomerang any day?"

Sokka, a little embarrassed now, put his weapon on the table beside him.

"Besides that, I complement you on your passion for those who you protect." The man, now looking at Sokka's grandmother said, "And you, you told me that all the men in the village left for war."

"I just recently turned twenty, sir. So, I just technically became a man only a few weeks ago. It must have slipped her mind. She is quite old after all," Gran-gran gasped and hit Sokka on the side of his head, yup, that's where Katara got her spirit.

"Hmm, well then all is forgiven. But, you, boy,—"

"Sokka, my name is Sokka."

The room went silent and one of the Earth Kingdom guards pushed himself straight into Sokka's face and yelled, "Don't you dare interrupt Mr. Beifong again, you worthless water peasant—"

"Enough, enough, Chang, he meant no disrespect. Now, Sokka, I'm going to need you to come to the Earth Kingdom with me for both business and personal reasons."

"Sir, I am going to have to politely decline. I have to stay here to work for and protect my people."

Mr. Beifong smiled a tight smile, "I came here first only for supplies, but, now that I have seen you I believe that you are a necessity that I am going to need. You see my daughter, she is blind and helpless. Unfortunately, do to business; I am not able to be around for her often. Also, I recently found one of my men stealing from my wife. He was, shockingly, already tied up and beaten for what he had done but the damage was done, and I had to fire him from his duties. I need someone with heart, passion, and strength. I see that in you. So, Sokka, although I am a very lenient man, I am not offering you a choice here. You must accept."

Sokka turned to his Gran-gran and mouthed, 'No'. Gran-gran closed her eyes which had filled with tears and when she opened them again, the tears were gone. "My grandson would be honored to protect your daughter, Mr. Beifong."

The dark haired man smiled and nodded his head respectively to the older woman, "Thank you for your willingness. I appreciate this on behalf of me and my family."

Gran-gran smiled coldly and asked, "May I have a few minutes alone with my grandson?"

"Of course, come men. We will be waiting for you on the ship, Sokka." The men left in a straight line, one after the other as they followed their leader.

"Gran, I cannot go the Earth Kingdom! You, Katara, the village...you all need me!" Sokka cried as he knelt to his grandmother's height who sat in a chair.

"Sokka, I know. I do not wish for you to leave but, Mr. Beifong is a strong political man in all the nations. I fear what he will do to not only us but also the village if we were to refuse."

"Father—"

"Would be proud for the sacrifice you are providing for the tribe, now go say goodbye to your sister."

Sokka hugged his grandmother, and that is when she let her tears fall.

* * *

Grabbing his one bag, that contained all that he owned, Sokka blinked the annoying tears from his eyes as he walked towards the ship. Looking up at the sky, a part of him wished Aang and Katara would sweep in now to say goodbye. But, that was selfish. His sister needed to be kept safe and weirdly enough, he trusted that odd air bender with her.

Shifting the bag to his other shoulder, Sokka took in a deep breath as he got ready for a long journey. And although so much was on his mind, he couldn't help but wonder;

Did he pack enough seal jerky?

**Lol I had to add a little humor at the end. It was getting to depressing. Tell me how you all like it so far! Thanks for reading! **

** *Sue-per Z**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, first I would like to thank Klimmatt for being my first reviewer! And don't worry, the holes will be filled. I did not want to give all the answers in the first chapter. Gotta build the suspense you know? Also, thank you Missy the Cat for putting this story on your favorites! Last I would like to thank Fruipit and Watching Happiness Burn for putting my story on their alert page! All together I am just giving shout outs too:**

**Klimmatt**

**Missy the Cat**

**Fruipit**

**Watching Happiness Burn**

**Finally, I do not own ATLA!**

When the ship finally landed at the edge of the Earth Kingdom, Sokka was fast asleep in his bunk. Unfortunately for him, he was jostled awake by Mr. Beifong's leading man, Chang.

"Get up, water boy."

Sokka wiped at his eyes and grimaced at the man standing in front of him. "Are you going to just stand there or are you going to leave so I can dress. I mean, I know my devilishly good looks are just a sight to behold but—"

Chang rolled his eyes and put one hand up, silencing the dark skinned boy, "You have ten minutes." And with that, he left slamming the door behind him.

Pulling the blanket off of his body, Sokka walked over to a box that sat at his desk. Chang must have put it there before he left, he thought. Pulling on the strings of the package, the water tribe warrior cringed at what he found inside it. There was a pale green uniform with beige stripes on the sides of the trousers. In the middle of the dress shirt was also a beige Earth Kingdom symbol. All in all, it was hideous. Glaring at the wall as he dressed, Sokka couldn't help but notice that Chang was not wearing this piece of crap. Chang had on a black short sleeve tight t-shirt and long baggy black pants with forest green accents on the sides. And Sokka hated to admit it but, Chang's outfit was pretty cool.

"Water boy! Come on, put your make up on and let's go!"

Smirking, Sokka walked out and laughed, "Just trying to look good for you, Changy!"

Some of the other men, that were also wearing the same uniform as Chang, laughed at Sokka's joke until they noticed Chang's back straighten up and his arms go straight to his sides. All of them followed suit, while Sokka was still smirking about his remark.

Mr. Beifong walked in and quickly noticed Sokka's smile, "Something funny?"

The smirk wiped right off of Sokka's face as he finally noticed that everyone's face was dead serious. "Um, I'm just very excited to meet your wonderful daughter! If she is anything like you, I'm sure I won't be disappointed."

Mr. Beifong squinted at Sokka for a few seconds, and then laughed as he playfully hit the twenty year olds shoulder. "Very good, that is the kind of spirit I want to see from my men!"

When the old man walked past Sokka to inspect his other men, the blue eyed warrior felt a nudge to his side.

"Nice save! I haven't ever been able to make Beifong laugh, and I have been here for two years now. My name is Torrak by the way," the brown eyed boy smiled and stuck his hand out towards Sokka.

Laughing, Sokka grabbed his hand and gave it a hearty shake, "I'm Sokka."

* * *

At around seven o'clock, a loud bell chimed through the Beifong home. Well, it was more of a castle than a home. Although it only had one floor, Sokka assumed this was the case since Beifong's daughter was blind, it was very large. Sokka sighed and lifted himself off of the ground. He had settled himself down in the garden and was listening to Torrak talk about all the great attractions of the Earth Kingdom.

"Oh, that's the bell. That means it is time for dinner. We can't be late tonight, today is special." Torrak ran a hand through his dark brown, shoulder length hair.

"Why?" Sokka helped, Torrak off the ground and they began to walk towards the house.

"Well, since a new man, you, have been brought in to care for Beifong's daughter. We are all allowed to eat with the family so that she can meet you."

"What is she like anyway?"

Torrak smiled and Sokka thought he saw him blush, "She is feisty that is for sure. Although she has a disadvantage she doesn't let anyone talk down to her. Also, she is a little clumsy but you can't fault her for that. Her name is Toph by the way. And she is quite beautiful, but don't say that around her parents or even her. They don't like to hear it."

Sokka raised an eyebrow at that. He, of course, barely talked to any girls other than his sister but, he assumed girls liked to be complimented.

When they reached the dining room, Torrak sat at the end of the table by the other men and waved Sokka over. The dining hall was huge; everything was black, green, and silver, even the candles. Looking around the table, Sokka noticed that all the food was already laid out on the silky table cloth. And everything smelled delicious. Sokka was starving but he was also intimidated. There were so many different plates and spoons and forks. He wasn't a caveman, he knew how utensils worked but which fork went with which food? Closing his eyes, Sokka forced himself not to freak out. He could do this, it was just one dinner.

"The Beifong's have arrived." Announced a servant decked in black as he bowed away from the entry way.

Sokka opened his eyes and sat up straight. He wanted to see the famous daughter he heard so much about. As the family of three walked in, Sokka flushed with embarrassment as he noticed that he was the only one at the table that was not standing up. Before he could get up, he noticed that a young girl, whom he assumed was Toph, had her face turned towards him. It was as if she knew he was the only one sitting. And when he flushed a darker red, his mouth opened as he noticed her smirk. It was the same smirk he got when he saw Katara make a fool of herself.

Although he was beyond embarrassed, Sokka couldn't help but agree with Torrak. Toph was beautiful. She had the palest green eyes and striking dark hair that made her skin look like porcelain. Finally, everyone sat down and Sokka still could not keep his eyes off of the young Beifong. He understood why her father wanted someone to watch over her, she looked so fragile. Yet, when he looked at her unseeing eyes, he saw so much more than a lost helpless girl. She looked like she knew more than anyone else at this table.

Sokka looked all over face and couldn't help but follow the skin that reached towards the top of her green dress. His eyes widened as he saw the top swell of her breast. Suddenly, he felt a swift kick to his leg. Sokka grabbed his face and hid his grimace behind his hands as he yelled out a muffled, "Ow!"

Mrs. Beifong looked over at the new trainee and asked, "Are you alright?"

Sokka looked up at the soft spoken woman and gave her a tight lipped nod. When he looked under the table he was shocked to see a medium sized rock sitting by his leg. Looking back at Toph he could have sworn he saw her hiding a smile behind her hand.

"So, Sokka," Mrs. Beifong continued, "I hear that you are from the Southern Water Tribe. What is that like?"

Turning his head away from her daughter, Sokka answered, "It's cold?"

Mrs. Beifong laughed politely, "Of course, but it must have been hard being the only man and having to care for your whole tribe."

"No, no. It wasn't difficult; it gave me purpose since I had nothing else to do. And I enjoyed hunting, building, and wielding new weapons. Also, I had to keep the tribe at top shape for when the men return from the war."

Chang chuckled, mockingly, "You believe the war will end?"

Sokka glared at the man a few seats away from him, "Yes."

"That is like believing that the Avatar will return. Some people have to let go of such childish hopes."

"Well, with how the world is now, all we do have is hope!" Sokka rolled his eyes as he thought about how what he said would have made Katara more proud of him than when he caught his first fish.

"Of course, the weakest nation would be the one to start preaching about hope." Chang smirked when he noticed Sokka's face flush with anger.

Right when Sokka opened his mouth to retaliate, he was silenced by a strong and clear voice, "Usually the weakest end up being the most strong not only in strength but in heart."

"Of course, of course, sorry Ms. Toph, I wasn't thinking."

Looking over at Mr. and Mrs. Beifong, Sokka noticed that they were holding their breath. After a few seconds when Toph's mouth did not open again, they let out their breaths.

And then, "Yeah, usually dumbasses don't think."

Sokka spit out the water he was drinking and laughed as Toph's parents cried, "TOPH!"

**Thanks for reading! **

***Sue-per Z**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I just came back from vacation and now I have some great (well…what I think is great) ideas for this story. But, before I go on with this chapter, I have more shout outs! **

**ChaosScythe**

**smallsin**

**burnedcat**

**Pavelius**

**erring quip**

**The2017**

Dinner ended shortly after Toph's outburst, which Sokka did not mind at all. The whole evening was awkward and stiff. But, Sokka had to admit that seeing Chang all flustered and upset made the whole night a little better.

All the men stood up from their chairs once the servant gave them the news of the abrupt ending to the meal. When everyone left the room in a single filed line, Sokka turned around last minute back into the dining room. Looking at the mess of plates, silverware, and cups, Sokka began stacking them and wiping down the table cloth. He still was not used to someone doting on him. Also, Gran would be upset to know that Sokka had someone else clean his mess.

"You know, we have people who do that for us."

Jumping in surprise, Sokka turned to find Toph leaning on the wall beside the door. "How…what?"

"I'm blind, not deaf. I can hear you stacking the plates. Why are you doing that?"

"Well," the blue eyed boy scratched the back of his head, "um…it's one of my hobbies?"

"Stacking plates is one of your hobbies?" Toph pushed herself off the wall and tripped over her own feet walking towards the water tribe warrior.

Sokka blinked a couple times, "Yes."

"Gee, so if I fall down a couple stairs at least I will know that you'll have no trouble stacking my bones back on top of one another."

Looking at the pale girl beside him, Sokka rolled his eyes, "Were you born sarcastic?"

Toph put her hand to her heart and faked shock, "No, Sokka, I bought all this sarcasm from the store!"

The tan boy was already smiling by the time she said his name and now he was grinning from ear to ear.

Putting her arms on table with her back against it, Toph pulled herself up so that she was sitting on top of the smooth table cloth. "Talking about stores, can you take me out shopping?"

"Now?"

"Why not?"  
Sokka sighed, "Do you think your father would want the 'trainee' to take his daughter out on his first day on the job?"

"I don't care about what my father wants. And I need to buy some things."

"Like shoes?" Sokka pointed at Toph's bare feet, then realizing his mistake, gave her foot a shove with his shin.

Wiggling her toes, Toph smiled, "Who likes shoes?"

Sokka raised an eyebrow, "Every girl I have ever met?"

Toph laughed, offering her hand out to shake, "Well then, nice to meet you Sokka."

Shaking his head with a smirk on his face, Sokka grabbed her hand.

* * *

Toph lead Sokka down the clean and dark halls of the large ranch with both of her hands on the walls beside them. When they reached the main entrance doors, Sokka reached out for the door knob.

"What are you doing!"

"Opening the door for you? It's called being a gentleman." Sokka gave her an annoyed look.

"Well thank you, Mr. Macho, but we aren't leaving through there."

"Are we sneaking out?"

"Yeah…got a problem with that?"

Staring at the large window that he assumed they were going to crawl out of, Sokka sighed and grabbed her waist, hoisting her up. "Let's go."

* * *

Once they were outside, Toph was already running towards a large boulder in the garden. Reaching behind it, she pulled out a dark shawl and wrapped it around her head and body. Sokka laughed, "Do you do this a lot?"

"Yeah, it's one of _my_ hobbies."

As they were walking, Sokka noticed that Toph did not try to grab for his arm or hand. Was she so used to going out that she was confident that she wouldn't fall? Shaking his head, Sokka grabbed her hand, just in case.

"What are you doing? We are going out as in literally walking out. This is not some date." Toph yanked her hand from his.

Sokka squinted at the young girl, "I was just making sure that you won't fall."

The dark haired girl's eyes widened and she froze. She looked as if she had made a huge mistake. "Oh, yes. It's just that I usually initiate the hand holding. You just scared me, I am blind you know. So, next time warn a girl."

"I am reaching for your hand…still reaching…almost there…my index finger has made contact—"

Blushing, Toph grabbed his hand again, "Ok, ok, I get it."

Sokka noticing her red face chuckled, "Are you blushing?"

Her face flushing even more, Toph retorted, "Shut up, you were blushing the whole time at dinner while you were ogling my breasts."

"No I wasn't."

"I could feel you staring, and you made it so obvious." Toph was now smiling as she noticed that Sokka was getting nervous.

"Oh so now you have some sixth sense? You don't have any proof. Why would I want to look at you that way anyway?"

Toph flinched, "Forget I said anything. Can we just go shopping already?"

Sokka noticed her frown and squeezed her hand, "Toph…I didn't.."

Suddenly, they both heard a small cry come from the alley way beside them.

"What was that?" Sokka looked over at Toph and noticed that she had let go of his hand and was running towards the alley.

Screaming her name, Sokka followed after her and they both found a little boy huddled behind a garbage can. He looked no older than five years old. The little kid was shivering and Sokka was shocked to see Toph grabbing his shoulders, smiling and whispering soothing words in the child's ears. He was still rather far from them so he could not hear what she was saying. Then, out of nowhere the young boy cried again and pointed behind Toph's shoulder. Both Sokka and, surprisingly, Toph turned to see a Fire Nation officer coming towards them.

Sokka began to run towards them faster now. He had to protect them. But, before he could, he saw Toph put her hand up and the walls around them abruptly caved in and rocks and rubble fell on top of Toph, the boy, and the officer. "Ms. Beifong!" Sokka yelled and ran towards the rubble.

"We're fine, Sokka" the warrior turned to the sound of her strong voice and found Toph and the boy sitting with a circle of rocks around them. It was as if the rocks fell everywhere but at them. How was that possible? When he looked behind him, he saw the officer underneath the rubble, whether he was dead or not, he had no idea.

"How…why…what?"  
"I said we are fine, stop asking questions that don't matter. Now, can you please take me home." Toph stood up and Sokka took a step back. She looked as much of a warrior as he was. Her hair blowing in the wind, rubble all around her, with dirt smeared on her face.

Sokka nodded and watched as Toph knelt down beside the boy and whispered in his ear again. She made hand motions and the little boy smiled and hugged her. Once Toph stood back up and walked beside Sokka, the little boy put his fists up the way Toph just did in front of him. Little did he notice that Toph's fists were in the same position. Suddenly, the wall beside the young kid opened and he clapped his hands before running through the wall that closed behind him.

"He was an earth bender? Wow, Ms. Beifong, you are very lucky."

Toph smirked and rubbed her wrists, "I guess I am."

**Thank you to everyone who is reading this. I really appreciate the support! **

***Sue-per Z**


End file.
